R.I.P. Hunters hit Missouri State Penitentiary

The former Missouri State Penitentiary (MSP) has long had an infamous and well-documented relationship with the paranormal. Now, an Orlando-based group wants in.

R.I.P. Hunters will be at MSP on Saturday, investigating the building’s eerie cells, hallways and gas chamber. The group will be scouting the location from 7 p.m. to midnight for a potential TV series with Steel Spyda Productions, which is already producing a movie on the self-proclaimed ghost hunters.

Mike Damsel, organizer and lead investigator for R.I.P. Hunters, said he wants the group’s followers to show up for the tour. Using an online page www.meetup.com/RIPhunters to promote the event, Damsel is urging paranormal enthusiasts to make it out to the MSP.

“We (want to) do a full-blown investigation with them,” he said. “The interest in paranormal activity has been huge lately.”

Damsel said the potential for supernatural discoveries in the prison is substantial, given the number of deaths that have occurred within the building’s walls. MSP has often been cited as “The Bloodiest 47 Acres in the U.S.,” referring to the penitentiary’s history of riots, executions and bloodied bodies.

Alongside colleagues and any followers who wish to join, Damsel hopes to prove there is a paranormal presence in the old Jefferson City prison.

“We’re gonna go in there and get some awesome evidence,” he said.

The prison previously hosted the crew from the SyFy network show “Ghost Hunters.”